Perspective
It's strange how your perspective can change. When I was (sort of) in the music business, I gradually came to look at the industry from a different angle. Now the same thing has happened with TV and advertising, as I write about one and work full-time in the other. At first, with each of these…
Diner: No Gas Here
Sometimes a drive to the burbs is full of surprises. Like finding a charming Italian restaurant just down the road from a major mall. Even more surprising than its unique location in a renovated gas station is that it delivers fresh, authentic Italian fare at a reasonable price. When cruising through Springdale, that's exactly what…
Brian Joiner
Jymi Bolden Brian Joiner Brian Joiner speaks for a half-hour before he even mentions his pig, Pig Dreams. (Better say it was sponsored by Acme Construction here, because there's nowhere else to mention it.) And after briefly sidetracking to swine his pig was the perfect completion of his three-year Portrait Series he…
Personal Liberty Concerns Stall New Seat Belt Law
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), three of every five unrestrained people who died in motor vehicle accidents in 1997 would have survived if they'd been wearing seat belts. The Ohio Department of Public Safety estimates that buckling up increases the chance of surviving a crash by 45 percent. The decision to…
Maurice Mattei talks about doing music for all the right reasons
Maurice Mattei Cincinnati's independent record retailers received their copies of World on Fire: The Best of Maurice Mattei Vol. II last week. It's his fourth release since 1997, and the 10th overall for the prolific tunesmith, who hand-delivered the CDs himself. This manner of distribution is the logical final step in a record production…
Black-and-White Whine
"Can I see your license?" I get that question a lot. Partly because it's the start of my favorite sexual role-playing game, Naughty Out-of-Season Bonefisher Happened Upon by Unmerciful Game Wardeness. But in this instance, it's because a cop has me pulled over and is initiating the traffic citation sequence. I've been ticketed many, many…
Another Year, Another Riverfront Lawsuit
The Firstar Center finally filed a long-rumored lawsuit against Hamilton County in late July. The issues: what effect construction of the adjacent new Reds stadium will have on Firstar attendance and whether the county is living up to the arena's lease, which the county inherited when it took over managing Cinergy Field. The county and…
Beware the Pigeons
Pigeons. They're pretty stupid, right? People rarely describe others as having the cunning of a pigeon. And you've probably never seen a movie in which a ruthless double agent called The Pigeon slips unseen across borders like a gust of wind, always one step ahead of the Russians. There's a good reason for that. They're…
Yonder Mountain String Band
One of the latest and increasingly popular "Newgrass" groups on the scene, Colorado's Yonder Mountain String Band, will bring their speedy, diverse Bluegrass stylings into the BarrelHouse for what should be a thoroughly entertaining mid-week concert. The group have emerged in just a few short years, proving to be a favorite at Bluegrass festivals as…
Read, White and Black
Let's get one thing straight right off. I am a Negress — the title bestowed by an angry white reader — with a column and, therefore, I will always have the last word. That said, let's review: White people are mad, and they're not going to take it anymore! Several white readers are incensed that…
The Dating
Over the weekend I was at a dinner/fundraiser for the Cincinnati Vegetarian Resource Group. It was one of the rare and joyous times I have been out and able to eat anything offered to me without fear of some hidden animal product. Only the night before I had been at a house party and had…
